Sheet-glass-rolling apparatus



J. L. DRAKE SHEET GLASS ROLLING APEAHATUS Jan. 12 1926.

Filed April 30, 1925 2 Sheets-Shet ENVENTBQ c/ohn' LDrake AT T [112 Jain. 12 1926. 569,466

' J. L. DRAKE I SHEET GLASS ROLLING APPARATUS I Filed April 30, 1925 ,ZiSheets-Sha3et 2 gob reducing mechanism, and

f9 gnodiiied form of construction I Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

UNI-TED. sfraTEs PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. DRAKE, TOLEDO, OHIO,'ASSIGNOR TO THE LIBBEY-OWENS SHEET GLASS COMPANY,,OE TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SHEET-GEASS-BOLLING APPARATUS.

Application filed A r l 30, 1925. Serial No. 26,945.

To all whom it may concern: I I

Be it known that I, JOHN L. DRAKE, a citizen of the UnitedyStates, residing at Toledo,"inthe county of Lucas and State of Ohio, hive invented new and useful Tm .provem'ents in- Sheet-Glass-Rolling Aparatus, of which the following is a specication. The present invention relates to sheet glass 0 apparatus, and has reference to the production of sheets of glass particularly Welladapted for use as plate glass blanks.

An important object ofthe invention is to, provide an ap aratus for producing blanks of lass suita leior plate glass manu- .facture, t e said apparatusbeing capable of rapidly producing said blanks.

Another object is to provide mechanismf for creating gobs or charges of glass of predetermined size, the gobs of glass belng adapted .to be reduced through several stages to sheet form, the said sheets having predetermined .dimensions and being capable for use as plate glass blanks. j

Still another object of the invention is to provide \a gob feeding mechanism for discharging a predetermined quantityfot glass upon amovable support which is adapted to bemoved under a' rotatable member to roll the gob to the desired length after which the gob is moved in transverse direction beneath a second member to roll I, it to thede sired width. a j

Stillanotherobject of the invention is to.

provide a method and apparatus for pro- .iiucing sheets of glass wherein gobs or barges of glass are discharged from a suit-' able container in succession, each of said gobs being supported upon a movable table 40 which is moved beneath a plurality, of rotatable stationary rolls, to reduce the gob to sheet form of predetermined dimensions.

Other objects andadvantages of the invention will becomeapparentduring the 4 following description.

In the drawings wherein'lik e numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Flg. 1 is a fragmentary elevation partially in section, showing the device in operation Fig;"-'2 is anend elevation thereof, I

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan. view of the Fig.4 is a side elevation of laslightl y slow and expensive.

Heretofore plate glass blanks have fi i produced by rolling a large quantity of molten glass upon a suitable table. The

glass is ordinarily in this process removed from a tank in a large ladle, after which it ispoured upon the table as has been stated. Considerable heat is dissipated in the trans.

, fer of the glass from the tank to the rolling table. Due to the loss of heat exceptional speed and skillis required to roll the mass moral of the uneven portions during the grinding and polishing operahons to give an absolutely flat uniform sheet. This greatly increases the cost of so-called plate glass as the surfacing operations which usually include grinding and-polishing are is used in the art to designate glass which has been surfaced by means of grinding and polishing. I

It is an aim of the present invention to produce a methodand apparatus for quickly and easily forming blanks of glass which. are relatively flat and uniform in thickness, whereby the thickness of the blank can be relatively much thinner than the blanks heretofore nscd. lly reason of the flatness of the blank, allowance is made for the surfacingoperations, but it is not necessary to make such an enormous allowance as heretoforc.

In the drawingsis shown a form of gob feeder which is merely diagrammatic and which is used to discharge a predetermined charge or gob of glass from a suitable container. Each charge of glass is received upon one of a plurality of molds or tables which are then'ri'ioved beneath a plurality of. preferably stationary rotatable members. The clearance beneath each roll is successively less so that the gob. is gradually reduced tothe proper dimensions. The ob is preferably rolled in one direction rst to produce the desired length of blank, after which it is rolled in the opposite direction to give the desired width. The resulting blank will have a predetermined thickness, aswell as length and breadth. The size of the blanksproduced will depend upon the size of gob and size of mold ll of The term plate glass all which can be changed as desired very easily.

The numeral 10 designates a tank furnace containing a mass of molten glass 11 which is permitted to flow in the discharge end 12. The bottom of the discharge end 12 is pro-. vided with a suitable opening 13 in which is adapted to reciprocate a plunger 14: operable through means of the cross-arm 15. The plunger lat may be of any construction, and if it is desired it may be rotated to prevent the glass from sticking thereto. Arranged below the outlet 13 are a' pair of cutter knives 16 which are provided to cut the charge of glass as will be understood. A guide trough 17 may be used to direct the gob or charge 18 which has been released from the machine.

Arranged below the guide trough 17 is an endless chain mechanism 19 movable about the sprocket drums-2O and dragging across the guide rails 21 in its upper horizontal run. Arranged on both sides of the chain 19 are a plurality of bearing members 22 supported in the rails 23. Mold sections .24- are adapted .to ride along the ways formed by the rolls 22 Each of said molds are provided with the downwardly extending projections 25 against which lugs 26 are adapted to abut. Arranged at intervals in the chain construction 19 are the lugs 26, and as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 the lug 26 will engage one of the surfaces of the projection 25 whereby to move the mold r sections 24: along the rolls 22.

After the gob or charge of glass 18 has been deposited, preferably in the front end of the mold section 24, the lug 26 abutting against the projection 25 will cause the mold to be moved under a rotatable drum or roll 27 carried in the stationary supports 28. As is shown in Fig. 3 the roll 27 will roll the gob approximately into a shape as designated by the numeral 29. 'The table 24 is provided with flange portions 30 to restrict the movement of the gob 18. As is indicated by the numeral 29 the gob has been rolled to its desired length. The mold section is then transferred from the carrier mechanism 31to the carrier mechanism 32 which is accomplished by permitting the mold to ride over upon the rolls 33 corresponding to the rolls 22. The mold is then engzured by the lug 34: in Fig. 1 corresponding to the lugs 26-which causes the mold to be moved in a direction transverse to its first direction. 3 It] is then passed beneath a second roll 35 similar to the roll 27 but arranged closer to the mold than the original, thus rolling the gob to the desired width and the final thickness, thus the thickness of sheet produced depends upon the closeness of the second roll 35 to the mold. The blank produced is indicated by the numeral Obviously, any number of finishing or supplementary rolls can be added to the construction to insure a perfectly flat and uniform thickness of sheet. After the gob has been reduced to sheet form; it is permitted to leave its mold and pass into an annealing leer 37. The mold.

is provided with the movable end or gate 38 which is'ilowered when it is desired to remove the sheet from the mold or table. The table is then run around on carriages 39 and 40, placing it in position beneath the gob feeding mechanism ready to receive another gob. Any number of mold sections can be used depending upon the thickness of sheet, size of sheet and rapidity with which the gobs are discharged from the tanks.

In Fig. 4 a slightly modified form of construction is shown wherein the mold sectionll instead of passing beneath a plurality of rolls to reduce the gob to thickness is run over a block 12 arranged beneath a plunger member 43. 'Whenxthe mold 41 supporting the gob A lis upon the base 42 the plunger is lowered as indicated by the dotted lines 45 toreduce the gob to sheet form, after which the mold is moved along so that the sheet 46 can be removed and passed through the annealing leer 47 being supported upon the leer'rolls 48.. The same form of tracking. mechanism can be used to make the movement of the mold sections automatic and continuous.

I It is to be IIIIdGI'StObd that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of. the same, and that various changes in the shape, size andarrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Claims:

1. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means to dis charge a gob of glass therefrom, and means to reduce the gob to sheet form by rolling it along different axes.

2. in sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing 21 mass of molten glass, means to discharge a gob of glass therefrom, and means for rolling it a number of times to reduce it to sheet form.

3. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means to discharge a gob of glass therefrom, means for rolling the gob in one direction, and means to roll the gob again in a direction transverse to the first.

l.- In sheet glass apparatus, a tank con taining amass of molten glass, means to discharge a gob of "glass therefrom, and

means for reducing a gob tosheet form consisting of means to roll the gob to length, and means to roll it to width.-

5. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means to discharge a gob-.of ghsa'therefi'om, and

means for movin the gob beneath a plurality of rolls to ref ce it to sheet form.

6; In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means for discharging gobs in succession therefrom,

means for supporting each gob, apluralit of rolls, and means for moving each go beneath the said rolls to reduce it to sheet form. I

7. Inishect glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means for discharging gobs in succession therefrom, means for reducing the gobs to sheet form whereby each gob is rolled in one direction to reduce it to length, and means for rolling it in another direction to reduce it to width.

8. In sheet glass ap 'aratus, a tank con-'- taining a mass of mo'ten glass,,means to discharge a gob of glass therefrom, and means for rolling the gob along intersecting axes to reduce itto sheet form.

9. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means for discharging successive gobs of glass there from, means forsupportingeach gob, a plurality of rolls, and means to move each gob beneath the rolls to reduce it to sheet form,

said rolls being arranged to permit the gob to be rolled alongintersecting axes;

10. In sheet glass a paratus, a tank containing a mass of mo ten glass, means for discharging successive gobs of glamthere 'from, means for rolling the gob along one of its axes to give the desiredlength, and means for rolling the ob along an intersecting axis to give the esired width.

11. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means'for' discharging successive gobs of glass there the first, said gob beihg'ia'dapted to inovetaining a mass of mo from, means for rolling the gob along one of its axes to give the desired length, and means for rolling the gob along an intersecting axis to 'give the desired width .andthickness of sheet.

12. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank conteli glass, means for discharging successive go s of lass therefrom, means for moving the'go beneath a roll and a second roll mounted relatively closer to .the lower surfacfe'of the gob ,th'an consistin discharging successive obs of glass therefrom, a plurality of rol s arranged at variousrelative heights, and means for mov ing the. gobs beneath the rolls to reduce'them to sheet form, the rolls being mountedin positions whereby each, gob is rolled along different axes. f

- 15. In sheet glass apparatus, a tank containing a mass of molten glass, means for discharging successive gobs of glass; there from, a plurality of rolls arranged; t vari- .ous relative heights, and means so ing the obs beneath the'rolls to reduce them to .s 'eet form, the rolls being mounted ipositions whereby each gob is rolled along I di erent and intersecting axes,

' 16. In sheet glass a paratus, a. tank containing a mass of mo ten glass, means for discharging successive gobs of glass therefrom, a plurality of rolls-arranged at various relative heights, andmeans for may-' ing the gobs, beneath the 'rolls to reduce them to sheet form, the said rolls being mounted in positions, whereby each ob is rolled along: one axis to give the esired length and then rolled'along an intersecting axis to give the desired-width.

17. Insheet glass a paratus, a tank containing a massof molten glass, means for discharging succemive gobs of glass there from, a plurality of rolls arranged at various relative heights, andmeans for moving the gobs beneath the'rolls to reduce them to sheet form, the said rolls ,being mounted in positionsiwhereby each gob is rolled-along its longitudinal iaxis to give it the desired length, after which it is rolled along an axis transverse to the firsflto give the gob" the desired width and thicknea.

v 18. The process of. producingsheet glass, consistin 1n creatin a gob of glass and "then rolling it along iiferentaxes to reduce it to sheetform. a 19. The process of producing sheet glass, consisting 1n creating a gob of glass 'and then rollingit along. intersecting. axes to reduce it to sheet fo'ifm. I

20. The process of producing'sheet glass, in creating a gob of glass and then rolling it along one 'axis to give the desired length to the gob, and then rollin it along another axis to give it-the desire widt "lIO "21. The process of producing sheet glass,

consisting in creating a gob of glass and then movingthe go'b beneath a plurality .of members arranged at difierent relative heights to reduce it to sheet form;

3i ned at Toledo, in the county of Lucas, an tate of Ohio, this 28th. day of April,

1925; JOHN L, DRAKE. 

